Once Upon a Night
by illutia mist
Summary: Mikan was awakened that night. As she decided to take a walk, a meeting led her to an unexpected future...


**Hi! Hi! Good readers!XD**

**This is another one-shot from me!**

**This idea suddenly popped in my mind and I'm quite eager to publish it. This story has no connection with my other fics, not even the sequel from A Miracle Night. Hope you like it! **

**DISCLAIMER: I own Gakuen Alice!!XD …In my dream…T.T**

**So, we go on with the story now ne!XD**

_Sometimes, it crosses in my mind…_

_If only our condition is switched…_

_What will happen?_

A certain brunette opened her eyelids, revealing her hazel orbs which were hidden behind it. She then closed it again for a few seconds, hoping the sleeping powder that had descended upon her eyes before hadn't been gone.

But then, she knew it had been gone, for she didn't feel sleepy again at that time.

She opened her eyes for the second time and lifted her head a little from her comfort pillow. Her eyes searched for the only window in her room which was just beside her desk. She didn't know what time it was. But she was sure that it had been late at night, for she didn't see any light going in from the window.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes as she sat up on her single bed. After a few light rubbings, her eyes had fully opened. She ran her right hand through her long auburn hair. After five years passed, the length of her hair had reached just above her waist and she didn't bother to cut it.

As her hand reached the bottom of her auburn locks, she pulled it back from her hair and rested it on her lap which was covered by the white bed sheet, together with her left hand. Gazing around her small room, she saw it was filled with darkness.

The moon didn't show up that night.

She shifted her gaze back at her hands on her lap, as if she was thinking of something.

But the truth was…

Her mind was blank.

Nothing filled her mind at that time.

She wanted to fall into her deep slumber again, but she didn't feel sleepy at all. Her mind was fully awake. She wanted to think of something, but she had no idea what to think.

Heaving a sigh, she tossed her bed sheet aside and climbed off from her comfy bed. She slipped into her furry bed slippers and stood up. She approached the window and stared at the night sky through its transparent glass.

The sky was plain dark out there. But she could saw one or two tiny spark of stars.

Well, not as much as the usual nights though.

The paths that led to every place in the academy and were usually crowded with the students were empty. The streetlamps were the only things that illuminated the place in the dark, so that the paths still could be seen. The darkness also made the rows of trees on each side of the path look like the entrance to the deep woods, while they was just rows of trees that accompanied the students as they walked on the path in the day.

As she stared to the outside longer, a feeling to enjoy the night atmosphere suddenly filled her mind. She took a glance at her alarm clock which was stood silent on her desk.

1.05 am.

It's not late at night again. It had been early in the morning. And in a few hours again, she should attend the class.

'Well, it's not harm to take a little walk, isn't it?' she thought as she walked away from the window to her closet.

She took out a soft-blue colored cardigan from her closet and wore it. It suited her yellow pajamas she wore at that time. She moved to the shoes shelf near her front door and changed her bed slippers to her blue simple sandals. She opened her door and went out from her room.

After she locked her room and inserted the key in her pajamas' pocket, she walked through the corridor. The corridor was also dark, though there were one or two wall lamps that were still illuminated the way at every corner.

Walking in silence, the brunette tried to hear if there's any sound coming from any room.

But there's not.

Well, it's early in the morning anyway. The residents of the dormitory preferred to stay in their deep slumber, refreshing their mind to start their activities in a few hours again.

She would be also in her deep slumber, if it wasn't because the drowsiness that had engulfed her since the dinner time had been suddenly gone.

A cold wind suddenly brushed passing her face, making her closed her eyes by reflect. She opened her eyes and realized she had been outside the dormitory.

She didn't know when and how she arrived at the dormitory's front door without she even realized. Maybe it's because her body had already memorized that place, for she had been living in this place for five years.

Even though she already wore a cardigan, she still could feel the cold night wind touching her skin.

It's October anyway. Just in a few weeks again, the ground would be covered by the snow and she could play snowballs again with her friends. She smiled at the thought.

The cold wind blew again, bringing her out from her happy thought. She took a few steps forward and lifted her head, watching the sky that was still in its plain dark color above her. Somehow, she felt uneasy with the dark colored sky up there.

She fixed her eyes to the path in front of her and started to walk again, not minding the cold wind that kept on blowing through the air when she walked.

After walking for a while, she spotted a bench on the side of the path.

But the bench wasn't vacant.

Someone had occupied it.

The light from the streetlamps gave her a sight of a certain raven-haired boy who had his eyes closed at that time. The person was so familiar to her that she could easily recognize who he was. Surprisingly, he just wore a black T-shirt and black pants in the cold night.

"What are you doing here at time like this?" the lad suddenly asked, still with his eyes closed.

The brunette managed to keep herself calm at the sudden question. "And you?" she asked back, moving closer to the bench.

The lad opened his eyes slowly. The red crimson orbs slowly made their move to the brunette's direction. "You haven't answered my question."

She took a vacant seat beside him on the bench as she said, "I suddenly woke up a few minutes ago. I don't know why though. So I decided to take a little walk. You?"

"None of your business." He closed his eyes again.

The brunette made a small pout on her lips, unsatisfied because he didn't answer her question. "I have answered your question. But you haven't answered mine," she complained.

"I don't have to," he retorted.

"You're mean, Natsume."

"Whatever."

Thinking that it was no use to retort him, she gave him a 'humph' instead than looked away. Without her knowing, he cast her glance from the corner of his eyes. At her funny reaction, he smirked inwardly while still keeping his stoic face outside.

The silence fell between them after that. The brunette had forgotten her irritation at him quickly as she stared back at the night sky again.

"So, you finally let your hair down, huh?" Natsume said, breaking the silence.

Hearing him talked, she snapped out from her thought and looked at him. "Huh?"

"Nothing." He looked away.

That simple word of him just made her wondering more. "What is it, Natsume?"

"I said, nothing."

She puffed her cheeks, annoyed. "You're always like that. You should have answered if people asks you something," she muttered.

"You know me, Polka," he said nonchalantly.

Rolling her eyes, she spoke, "Yeah, yeah. I have known you for five years. You're still the same pervert that I met five years ago. Can't you change even a bit?"

"No intention," was his simple answer.

She narrowed her eyes at the lad beside her, only to be ignored by him. Heaving a sigh, she shifted her gaze back to the row of trees in front of her and drowned herself in her thought again.

'It has been five years, huh? I can't believe that it has been a long time since I came to this academy…'

She stole a glance at the raven-haired boy and continued to think, 'The first time I met him, he tried to escape from this academy. But Narumi-sensei caught him.' A few seconds later, her face suddenly turned red. 'He got my underwear at that time! Darn him! He's really a pervert!'

Natsume caught her glancing at him. "What?" he asked coolly.

"Nothing, pervert!" The brunette stuck out her tongue. "I still remember when we met for the first time. You stole my underwear at that time!" she said annoyingly. "What if there's no one who wants to marry me?!"

He raised an eyebrow then played a smirk on his lips. "You think they will marry a girl who wears childish panties like you? You must be kidding me," he mocked her.

Glaring at him, she folded her arms and said, "Well, a girl can be dreaming, right? I want to be a bride too."

He waved his hand in front of her while looking away and said, "Forget that. No one wants to marry you anyway."

"You're really a big jerk," she said with a sharp glare.

"Stupid girl," he retorted.

"Cocky boy."

"Noisy."

"Pig!"

"Polka."

"PERVERT!" she shouted while blushing furiously.

"Tch. You're really noisy. You'll wake the whole academy's residents," he commented coldly.

"Hmph!" She looked away in annoyance. She couldn't believe he just guessed her underwear correctly!

The silence came over them again. The brunette was still irritated at him, while the lad just stared at the other direction of the path, not minding her irritation.

'He's still the same pervert!!' she thought angrily, not wanting to look at him.

And without any of them made any sound, the night turned quiet again, giving them time to drown in their own thoughts.

After a few seconds, the brunette's eyes softened when she recalled everything they had gone through in these five whole years. She remembered all the moments when the fire caster suddenly turned nicer and softer to her. Well, a bit. She remembered the first time he smiled at her.

A smile managed its way to escape from her lips.

But then, a sad look showed up on her face as she remembered the time when she learnt his problem and also his dark side. The time when she learnt his alice was eating his lifespan. The time when she heard people called him a killer. The time when she learnt his sadness when he must separated from his family. The time when she learnt why he made a distance from her and his other friends.

…The time when he fell in the darkness…

He had suffered too much…

"Ne, Natsume…" she called him with a low voice. He didn't answer her call but he shifted his gaze to her anyway. On the other side, the brunette, even though she didn't look at him, she could feel him staring at her. She then continued her speech, "I just thought…what if I'm the one that has the fire alice? What if I'm cold like you?"

Natsume arched an eyebrow at her what-he-thought silly question. "What are you talking about, little girl?"

She turned her head to him and locked her eyes with his crimson one. "What if I'm you in the first place?" she asked with a serious face.

His eyes widened for a bit when he heard the sentence come out from her rosy lips. He never thought she would think like that. She was a happy-go-lucky girl and he just wanted her to be like that forever. He didn't want to involve her and drag her into the darkness that had engulfed him since a long time ago.

But now there she was, sitting in front of him and asking him what if she was him in the first place.

"What if I'm the one who stands in the darkness?" she asked again.

He was silent for a few seconds, not breaking the eye-contact with her. He played a smirk on his lips as he said, "And I'm the one who pulls you out from the darkness?"

Surprise was evident on her face as she heard his retort. And of course, the fire caster saw it even though it was dark at that time, thanks to the streetlamps. "And I'm the one who's doing those silly things, getting into many problems, having a bird brain, and wearing the childish panties? No, thanks. I don't want to think about it," he teased, directly wiping off the surprise look on her face and got a pout from her instead.

"Natsume, I'm serious…" she muttered darkly; her eyebrows wrinkled in irritation.

The smirk still didn't fade from his handsome face when he retorted, "I'm serious too, Polka. I don't want to be you."

"But what if that happened?" she asked, not giving up.

He poked her forehead lightly. "Don't even think about it."

"You have no imagination at all," she murmured while touching her forehead which was poked by him just now.

"And you have too much imagination," he said coolly while staring at her. "You better get back to your room and sleep. I think your brain already gets tired if you have ever thought about that switching thing."

Giving him the last pout, she got up from the bench and turned away. Natsume thought she would go back to her room and he finally could have his time alone at that night.

But he never predicted the brunette would stretch her hand to him with that smile of hers on her face.

And that was what happened at that time.

He looked at her hand then at her face. "What?" he asked in wonderment.

"I'll go back if you come with me," she said, still having her hand stretched out to him.

The lad ignored her offer and looked away. "Can't you go back by yourself?" he asked, a bit annoyed. He couldn't figure out what the brunette wanted from him was. "Afraid of ghosts?"

The brunette looked annoyed. "I'm just offering if you want to go back with me."

Natsume finally looked back at her. "And I have declined it. So, will you just leave me alone here?" he said irritatingly.

She didn't grant what he wished. Instead, she grabbed his right arm right away and pulled him to stand up. Natsume, who was surprised with her sudden action, got stumbled. He had no choice but to stand up and let her drag him away from the bench.

"Why are you so insisting?" he asked while looking at her back.

"Nothing. It's cold outside. You'll catch a cold if you stay outside just in that outfit," she replied without looking at him.

He just rolled his eyes at her answer. "Whatever."

"Ne, Natsume," she called, still dragging him.

"Hn."

"What if the switch thing did happen?" she asked. He couldn't see her face at that time, but he knew she was serious from the tone when she asked the question.

The silence managed to engulf them at that time. The only sound that could be heard was their footsteps. Natsume closed his eyes and shoved his free hand inside his pants' pocket.

'_What if the switch thing did happen?'_

The question kept ringing in his mind.

The brunette kept on dragging him to the dorm which was just a meters again from them. As she felt something in her hand, she stopped. She turned her head slowly to the raven-haired boy she dragged before. She saw her hand was in his hand and their fingers were lacing to each other. Her eyes traveled from his hand to his face. And there she saw something she hadn't seen for a long time.

A smile…

She froze on her spot, stunned by that rare smile of his.

"I rather be the one who stands in the darkness," was his simple answer that wiped off her wonder.

She was dumbfounded. But on the next second, her lips curved into a smile. "And I'll pull you out from the darkness."

His smiled didn't fade. But glad directly filled his heart at that time.

Did she know he confessed to her just now?

Maybe she didn't, considering she was a dense happy-go-lucky girl.

Maybe she just said it because she considered him as her friend.

Not releasing her hand from him, she took a step forward and reached the doorknob with her free hand. She opened the door then faced him before they went into the dorm.

"So, may I be with you tonight?" she asked, giving him a surprise; which he didn't show it on his face.

_She was a dense happy-go-lucky girl…_

Keeping his smile on his face and tightening his grasp on her hand, he softly said, "Why not?"

_But then, maybe she wasn't…_

The two figures disappeared behind the white door on the next second; each with the happy feeling in their heart.

The sky at that night maybe was dark. But their hearts were not…

_Even if you're the one who falls into the darkness…_

_I'll be the one who pulls you out from it…_

**And that's it!XD**

**So, what do you think? Sorry if it isn't good enough T.T**

**At least but not last, thank you for reading this story. And please review! I want to know what you think about this story! Once again, thanks!XD**


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